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Would You Eat at This Restaurant Completely Submerged Underwater?

Everyone loves an ocean view. But Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta is taking "ocean view" to a whole new level with the underwater restaurant they're building next year.

Everyone loves an ocean view. But the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta is taking the ocean view to a whole new level, with the underwater restaurant they will start building on southern coast of Norway next year. It's called "Under," and the dining room is going to be completely submerged underwater.

Dining in the Deep

Under is going to be shaped like a periscope, with the top half above the water and the bottom half below. When guests first enter at the shore level, they will come into the cloak room. They can then descend one level down to the champagne bar, and then another level down to the dining room.

The dining room will be sitting on the seabed, and it will feature a 36-foot-by-13-foot panoramic window, so guests can look at the marine life while they are eating.

Credit: Snøhetta

The building is essentially going to be a concrete tube. The walls are going to be 3 feet thick to protect against the harsh conditions of the North Sea.

Rune Grasdal, lead architect on the project, said one of the most important priorities is to make visitors feel secure. To maximize comfort and minimize claustrophobia, the design team is using natural materials like oak to construct the dining room. They are also paying careful attention to lighting.

Restaurant AND Research

The building is actually going to double as an underwater restaurant and a research facility. When the restaurant is not open to customers, researchers would use other parts of the building to study marine life. Some experiments have already been planned to study the behavior of marine organisms throughout the seasons.

The building is supposed to become a part of the marine landscape. The outer wall is going to have a course surface that mollusks can latch onto.